


Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands essay for school

by Moth_Man



Category: Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands, Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands essay, No Fandom, Original Work, this is for school - Fandom
Genre: 1st person, How Do I Tag, essay for school, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 13:34:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20046868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moth_Man/pseuds/Moth_Man
Summary: i had to write a analysis for school, and i wanted to put it here for some reasonif you steal this i'll eat your gallbladder and pour lemonade in your ear canalstay safe dont do drugs eat your veggies stay in school





	Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands essay for school

**Author's Note:**

> uwu

Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands is a book written by Susan Carol McCarthy, and takes place in 1950. At the beginning of the book, Marvin, a young black fruit picker, is murdered by the KKK. The police ignore what happened to Marvin, even as more killings and bombings of black households, Jewish households, and some Christian households who don’t agree with the KKK. Another white family who goes against the KKK is driven out of their town, leaving Reesa’s family as the only anti-KKK family left. After the double murder of a family, the FBI come down to investigate, leading to Reesa’s father to help steal records of the KKK members. Susan Carol McCarthy wrote Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands to show how the KKK affects people personally, and how damaging the group is.

The main character in Lay That Trumpet is a young girl named Reesa. She and her family are one of the families that are against the KKK, and actively try to stop them. At the start of the book, Reesa witnesses one of her friends, Marvin, die after being beaten by the KKK. Reesa’s observant, and remembers small details that others forget, or don’t notice. On page 79, it states, “And the waitress, can you remember her name?” “No,” Doto says, “I’m sorry.” “Mary Sue!” I cry out, and six pairs of eyes seek me mid stairwell. Leaning over the banister, I explain, “She had a curly pin on her uniform that said ‘Mary Sue’ plain as day.” Because of the fact that she’s so observant, she’s able to help on the case against the KKK. Reesa’s also loves having competition. “I love the competition, and to tell you the truth, usually I do quite well, (32)”. The game she’s playing is having to find the different Bible verses at a dinner party on Palm Sunday. Her friend Marvin taught her a way to find the verses, by using the rainbow. She also enjoys watching the rattler races her brothers put on. “The boys yank on one of their ropes to release the slip knot on the other. Instantly the snakes are free, their terrible beauty churning the pale gray dust. From our tree, we watch and hoot and yell as the brown diamondbacks coil and coil and uncurl, tail bells rattling, split tongues flickering… (87).” Watching the snakes race is one of the only past times she has as we see her, besides helping the only police officers who are trying to stop the KKK.

Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands is in first person point of view, and is most effective because it allows the reader to see how Reesa’s dealing with what’s going on in her town. It also lets the reader see her thought process, and how see how she works through things. “But, I do know, mine has lyrics -Marvin’s dead, gone forever- and that my brother Ren’s is a simple series of beats -Bhhh-dmmm (pause) pfff; sometimes harder, BHH-DMM, sometimes softer, Buhhhh-dummmmm, with a varying pause, and a final pfff (67).” The first person point of view shows the reader her empathy in this situation, and how she notices different things about other people. “I cry as the sickening sweet smell heaves my stomach into my throat. His lips, bleeding in a bright red trickle onto his chin, don’t move, can’t answer (10).” “...I feel myself sinking, sobbing into the furry softness of Buddy’s neck (11).” The usage of the point of view shows how she’s dealing with the trauma of her best friend dying. First person point of view has the best effect on the reader because it shows how she processes things, and her ability to understand how others process things.

Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands takes place in 1950’s Florida, fourteen years before Jim Crow is abolished. The KKK is the main conflict of the novel, and sets off everything that happens in the book. It starts off with Marvin Cully getting killed by the KKK. Then Reesa, her brothers, and their grandmother go to a restaurant, and when they’re there, they over hear members of the KKK talking about the murder of Marvin. On page 20, it says “‘Reed Garnet, y’all know him? Got there little late and that half-dead nigger looks up at him and whimpers, ‘Mr. Reed, Mr. Reed, it’s me, Marvin!’’” Later in the book, the FBI finally start trying to arrest some members of the KKK, which is part of the climax of the story. The other part of the climax is when Reesa’s father, Warren, and one of their employees, Robert, go to the KKK camp to find the book of all the members. “Their goodbyes seem ordinary-Robert’s, a shy wave around the table, Daddy’s, a quick kiss for mother and a confident ‘be right back’ for Armetta and me-as if they were headed to the hardware store instead of into the vary heart of the Klan’s secret headquarters. As if life, as we know it, doesn’t hang in the balance of what happens out there tonight (212).” This contributes to the climax because it’s the most tense moment of the entire book, and everything starts to calm down after it, as it is near the end of the novel. The falling action is when Reesa’s father blows a hole in the dried up fishing pond, allowing water to come back into it. It says on page 266, “We hear it first. Then, pressing closer, we see it. In the center of a sinkhole that’s been dead dry for thirty years, where minutes before Daddy and Luther stacked and lit our sticks of dynamite, a fountain of fresh water gushes up and onto the earth.” The action of creating an area for people to play in sets about the action of a new era, one where children are safe, and don’t have to stay in the house all the time, like they did during the time of the book.

The theme in Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands is good versus evil, where the good is portrayed by Reesa and her family, and evil is portrayed by the KKK and their supporters. Reesa’s first contact with evil is when she watches her best friend die, and she has been raised by good. The evil also shows when she hears some members of the KKK talking about how they killed Marvin. “‘It’s good t’ kill a nigger every once and a while, keeps the rest of ‘em in line’ (21).” We see Reesa’s experience with good when her father helps the FBI get the records of the members. “‘...and took the other two books with us,’ Daddy says (221).” Like most other stories where good versus evil is the theme, good ends up prevailing. However, despite the happy ending, the reader can infer that the KKK doesn’t end their operations, based on what the real world is like, despite the novel being historical fiction.

The reason Susan Carol McCarthy wrote Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands was to show how groups like the KKK can affect the way people are raised, their beliefs, and how they react in the world around them. Because of this, the reader can learn how those groups are affecting people in those situations, and how they can either fight back like they do in the book, or help people who are in those situations by getting them out of them.

**Author's Note:**

> i have no explanation


End file.
